Fire destroys home, spreads to neighbors, in Port Jervis, NY

Fire companies from three states answered a five-alarm blaze on North Orange Street on Thursday that destroyed one home and severely damaged another and left at least four people homeless.

JAMES NANI

PORT JERVIS — Fire companies from three states answered a five-alarm blaze on North Orange Street on Thursday that destroyed one home and severely damaged another and left at least four people homeless.

The fire began at 106 N. Orange St., Port Jervis, just before 2:30 p.m. Thursday. It quickly spread across the driveway to a neighboring house at 108 N. Orange St. Heat from the flames melted vinyl siding on a house behind 106 on Hudson Street and heavy smoke damaged the side of home at 104.

At least five firefighters and one resident were taken to Bon Secours Community Hospital in Port Jervis for heat exhaustion, according Orange County emergency responders.

According to neighbors, the two residents at 106 N. Orange St., Mary Rombosak and her son Tom, were home when the fire started, but both escaped.

Joseph Rudy showed up around 4 p.m. to see the fire burning through the charred attic of his home at 108 N. Orange. He said he's lived there for 22 years, and now lives there with his 19-year-old daughter. Just yesterday he said he put air conditioners in the windows. An air conditioner could be seen burned and on its side on the second-floor roof.

Rudy said code enforcement officers from Port Jervis had been at the house where the fire started just this week.

"Thank God it didn't happen in the middle of the night, or me and my daughter might be dead," Rudy said.

Several firefighters were treated at the scene for heat exhaustion, as temperatures hovered in the mid-90s.